Less than 5 percent users to be affected: TRAI

New Delhi, Feb 2: Less than 5 percent users will be affected by the Supreme Court’s order Thursday which cancelled 122 telecom, said the sector’s watchdog.

“The move is likely to affect less than 5 percent of users as the current operators other than the ones whose licenses have been cancelled control almost the rest of the market,” Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman J.S. Sarma told IANS.

Among players that have been ordered to cease operations are Idea Cellular, Uninor, Tata Teleservices, Loop Telecom and Videocon.

Sarma said customers with such companies also need not worry as they had an option to switch operators through mobile number portability (MNP).

The Supreme Court has given four months’ time to the companies whose licenses have been cancelled to cease operations, allowing ample time for an arrangement to shift users to another service provider.

Mobile number portability (MNP) is a service which allows customers to switch operators without changing their numbers.